A docking station is a device that is used to connect a portable information handling system to peripheral devices. The peripheral devices include but are not limited to printers, external hard drives, alternate keyboards, video display means (i.e. monitors), and modems. In the typical docking station, the connection means between the portable information handling system and the peripherals is electrical.
The docking station itself is primarily a convenience tool because the peripherals are normally permanently connected to the docking station and the portable information handling system is then removably connected to the docking station. This arrangement avoids the need to plug in several peripherals by consolidating all the interfaces through one connector: the docking station. The docking station, as the single connection point between the portable information handling system and the peripherals, is often very large just to accommodate all the peripheral device types. The larger and more versatile the docking station becomes, the more difficult the connection becomes. The connector between the portable information handling system and the docking station is likely to be in the range of 150 to 300 pins wide. Such a sizable connection has become a problem with users of the portable information handling system for two reasons. One, the large connection requires considerable force to connect and disconnect from the docking station. Two, the connector can be easily damaged by misalignment and repeated use, thus damage to the connector frequently results and is serious because of the large number of pins involved. The connector is expensive to replace due to labor costs. Moreover, damage to the connector could require a replacement of the main electronics board of the laptop computer due to the difficulty of the repair of the connector. The connector itself also is expensive to replace.
In addition, the connector creates burdens in the design of small portable information handling systems. The connector requires that a large flat area be provided on the case of the portable information handling system to accommodate the connector. This impacts the design of the portable information handling system and conflicts with the rounded contours preferred by users of the portable information handling system. Typically each portable information handling system manufacturer designs its own docking station, and neither docking stations nor connectors are compatible with portable information handling systems made by different manufacturers.
Existing docking stations are simply a box with all the necessary connectors and one central connector that interfaces with the portable. The more costly docking stations also contain features for plugging in electronic circuit package cards for personalized expansion of the docking station and/or peripheral features beyond those offered by the portable information handling system itself. These more costly docking stations function by providing bus extension between the portable information handling system and the docking station. That is, the docking stations bring out the portable information handling system's bus via the large connector or provide access to the micro-channel interface. Even the more costly docking stations are still by definition "dumb" devices in that they do not contain any processing capability.